According to a new study, the lunch served by school cafeterias are much healthier that the packed lunch given to children at home.

A team of researchers at Virginia Tech University have found that packed lunches are less healthy than meal in the cafeteria. The team test and observed packed lunched brought by kindergarten and pre-K students in three schools for a period of five days. They used the 2012-2013 National School Lunch Program's standards.

The team observed a total of more than 750 school meals and 560 packed meals. They found that 57 per cent of the students had lunch at the cafeterias while the remaining 43 per cent of the children brought lunches from home. They found that meals brought from home were unhealthy.

The team found that 60 per cent of lunches had dessert, and 40 per cent had a soda included while some parents packed chips, sweets, and other sugary drinks. According to National School Lunch Program guidelines, meals served at school have to include fruits, vegetables, milk, and naturally-sweetened juice, which makes it a healthierchoice.

The study will be published in the November/December issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.